A Missing Leaf
by CodedThoughts
Summary: Naruto and Sakura have gotten together while Sasuke is in a coma, but what happens when he wakes up and confesses his feelings for Sakura? NaruSaku
1. Prelude

First fanfic I've written, so reviews are appreciated, hope you enjoy it. -Coded

"**A Missing Leaf**"  
by Coded

(Starts just after the attack on Konoha by the Sand and the Sound)

**S**asuke sighed to himself as he walked into his house, shutting the door behind himself and leaning back against it. Kakashi had put Team 7 through another hard training session today, and Sasuke was spent. The young ninja's teeth ground as he thought of his teammate after the training had concluded.

Naruto had jumped up and down and shouted happily at the training being over, then proceeded to try to woo Sakura into going out on a date to get some ramen with him. Sasuke wasn't sure which irritated him more, the fact that Naruto had far more stamina than himself, or Naruto's constant hitting on Sakura.

Sasuke breathed out heavily and went to his kitchen to scrounge up something to eat. Despite being on his own for half of his young life, Sasuke had still yet to become a good cook, and he imagined he never would be, most of his cabinets were lined with instant foods and the like. Quickly making himself some instant ramen, much to his chagrin, Sasuke took the food with him into his bedroom and sat on his futon to quietly collect his thoughts.

Sasuke always took this time before his evening meal to meditate and think back upon the day's training and how he could have improved upon what he had done, but he found his thoughts being invaded as of late, and it was an invasion from within. He had, for quite some time, secretly had very deep feelings for a certain young female ninja within the village.

Sasuke had refused to acknowledge these feelings, thinking he was above that sort of normality, after all; Sasuke was an avenger, wasn't he? He couldn't be held back by foolish feelings for a girl, or anyone else for that matter. But try as he might, Sasuke just couldn't get this particular girl out of his head. He refused to act on the feelings, even now knowing they were there, and as far as anyone else knew, Uchiha Sasuke was as cold and distant as ever. However, the reason other people thought that was due to the fact that they couldn't see inside the young prodigy's head. For if they could, they would see what was really there, the seed of love slowly growing inside him, tearing away at his internal walls. It was all he could do to hide this appalling side of himself.

Shaking his head to clear the image of pink haired, green eyed beauty that had formed there, he quickly ate his ramen and lay down to drift off into the land of dreams. He was reluctant to sleep, for he knew what was there waiting for him: more thoughts and dreams of the one person that he thought and cared about, Haruno Sakura.

Naruto slowly picked himself off the ground where he had been laying. Breathing heavily he leveled his eyes at the large boulder that sat 10 feet from where the young genin lay. The boulder was blown apart in places, as were many of the trees in the general area surrounding the boy, the pieces still intact were imprinted with spirals, showing the effects of the attack Naruto was currently perfecting.

'Damn!' Naruto thought to himself, 'I need to perfect the Double Rasengan! I need to keep up with Sasuke!'

The thought of his rival and teammate irritated Naruto. The special Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto growled to himself. What was so great about Sasuke? Naruto had saved his butt plenty of times, and Naruto wasn't part of the great and almighty Uchiha clan.

Naruto spread his hands out to his sides, and began charging his chakra, trying to get the random spinning motion into both of the Rasengans grunting in concentration, the blond haired ninja was suddenly thrown backwards to smash through several trees as the double Rasengan was too much for him to control and they burst simultaneously.

Naruto winced again as he stood, this was the 4th time that had happened, and he still couldn't see how to gain control of both long enough to use them together. 'I can't keep this up,' Naruto thought, taking stock of the visible damages, and mentally checking off the internal pains. Deciding to call it a day, Naruto turned and slowly shuffled through the forest, back towards the village and the nice, soft bed in his apartment.

Sakura was the first to show up at Team 7's meeting spot, as usual. Sakura was always first to show up the day after Kakshi-sensei had given the genin a free day to train on their own. She knew just how far her two teammates would push themselves on such days, and she knew it took both of the young ninja's quite a time to recover from whatever training they had done, so it wasn't unexpected that they show up late. Sasuke was the next to show up. He walked onto the bridge as if in a daze.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura greeted her love interest happily.

However, she quickly frowned as she took stock of Sasuke's condition, he looked like a zombie. He didn't even have enough energy to give the pink haired ninja a snide or cruel comment like usual. "Are you ok, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, genuine concern oozing from her voice.

Just then, Naruto came bounding around the corner, running full speed towards the team's meeting spot. "I'm late! I'm LATE LATE LATE !" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs as he slid to a stop in the middle of the bridge. Looking around and seeing no sign of his sensei, he heaved a sigh of relief. Who knows what Kakashi would do to Naruto if he was later than the commonly un-punctual master.

Almost as if on cue, Kakashi appeared upon the bridge in a puff of smoke. "Yo," the masked ninja greeted his students with a salute. Expecting the normal outburst of "YOU'RE LATE!" from Sakura and Naruto, Kakshi was surprised when it never came. He looked down to see what was out of the ordinary with today. Naruto was too busy trying to catch his breath, Sasuke looked like a walking zombie, and Sakura was too busy fretting over Sasuke to give Kakashi the time of day.

Frowning slightly to himself, Kakashi raised his voice to get the attention of all three, "Well..I hope you didn't work too hard yesterday, we have an important mission for today, we're to scout a section of the border of the Fire Country to ensure that no enemy ninjas are trying to infiltrate our country while our village is in such dire condition." None of the genins under his command responded, and Kakashi wondered if his team was ready to handle such an important mission..he mentally shrugged and gathered up his charges and led them out of the village, toward the border.


	2. The Flight

"**A Missing Leaf**"

by Coded

**Chapter 2: The Flight**

' ' = Thoughts, " " = Speech

**T**hree sets of feet found themselves pounding over the forest floor. The ninjas ran in a "V" shape, the oldest in the front, with a body slung over his shoulder. The two younger ninjas, his subordinates were right on his heels, eyeing the surrounding forest wearily. Kakashi was getting tired, not only had he had to fight several Village of the Cloud jounins, but now he was in full retreat, with an unconscious Sasuke resting on his shoulders, a stream of blood dripping from the dark haired genin's head.

Naruto ran easily beside Kakashi, he had used up a lot of chakra while helping Kakashi fight the Cloud-nins, but he always seemed to have endless stamina, whereas it seemed his silver haired sensei was beginning to grow weary. Noticing this, Naruto took the initiative to not rely on Kakashi to sense any impending attacks, and began scoping out the forest himself as they ran. Naruto glanced over at Sakura and winced visibly.

The love of his life was able to run, but barely. Her right arm hung useless at her side, dripping a trail of blood as they ran, the rest of her body wasn't in much better condition, Sakura was far from weak, however she wasn't exactly strong, either..and Naruto had been forced to deal with 2 Cloud ninjas before he could come to her rescue. Naruto's eyes shifted to the unmoving form of Sasuke, half his body visible, hanging over Kakashi's shoulder. Naruto swore mentally. As soon as the battle had begun, Sasuke had seen the number of ninjas that Team 7 had to face on their own, and he had turned and attempted running, Sakura shouting after him before he had been intercepted by a Cloud-nin that appeared to be a jounin. Sasuke had been put out of commission by some form of lightning jutsu, Naruto wasn't entirely sure what it was.

Naruto would willingly tell anyone that was listening he hated everything about his teammate and rival, however he appreciated the fact that in a fight, he could usually count on Sasuke to protect Sakura while Naruto dispatched the enemy. That didn't happen this time, and Naruto hated himself for allowing Sakura to get beat up as much as she had before he could fight his way to her.  
  
Sakura focused her mind on the forest ahead of her, trying to ignore the pain of her arm, which was broken and bleeding freely.  
  
'If it wasn't for Naruto, I'd probably be in a lot worse shape then I am now..I might even be dead..Kakashi-sensei had been swarmed by ninjas, and Sasuke had fled, leaving only us to face all the Cloud-nins...there must have been 15,' Sakura thought to herself with a grimace.

She looked over at her loud, hyperactive teammate. He was currently turning his head from side to side, checking to make sure there were no signs of attack from the sides, while her sensei was watching the front. Sakura examined Naruto a little closer than she ever had before.

'He really IS amazing,' Sakura said silently, 'Naruto fought through 2 ninjas to get to get to me..then took out the 3 that had surrounded me..would Sasuke-kun have done that for me?'

Sakura shook her head angrily, 'No..he showed that all he cares about is himself, and that he's a coward..he ran while Naruto stood his ground with me and Kakashi-sensei against 15 enemy ninjas, and then risked his life to protect me.'

Sakura took stock of the damage Naruto appeared to have suffered. There was a hole burned into the boy's left side, showing where one of the Clound-nins that had been attacking her had punched Naruto with what appeared to be a less powerful form of the Chidori. The blond genin also had a split in his head that was flowing freely, ranging from the top of his left ear to the end of his temple, inflicted by a katana wielded by one of the Clound-nin...Sakura had shouted a warning to Naruto too late to save all damage, however she had given him the time to start the dodge, which had saved him from getting the top of his head lopped off.

Sakura felt a new and strange feeling welling up in her as she watched Naruto running, determination on his face. The determination of a person protecting someone they loved. Thinking of what Naruto had done to save her, Sakura realized the feeling inside her was growing and growing...a sort of warm feeling that started in her toes and was moving its way up through her body. Suddenly, the pink haired girl realized she hadn't thanked Naruto for coming to her rescue, and she felt now was as good a time as any.  
  
"Naruto-kun.." she began, but was quickly cut off as Naruto lunged at her and shoved her to her left, out of the way.  
  
Naruto was startled to hear Sakura's voice as they ran. Even more startled by what she had said: his name. Naruto. No..there had been more. Naruto replayed the sound in his head several times before he realized what it was. Sakura had called him Naruto-kun. Much the same way she had always refered to Sasuke..she didn't yell it, and her tone wasn't aggravated..if anything, Naruto would have called the tone of her voice soft, and kind. If the genin didn't know any better, he might even call it...loving?  
  
Naruto had been looking off to his right, away from Sakura when she called his name, and upon hearing it his head turned to look at her, to his left and a little behind. Naruto's eyes widened suddenly as out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the remaining 3 Cloud shinobi that Team 7 had left alive when they fled. Judging by their speed, and since Naruto hadn't noticed them until now, he judged they were overtaking the four Leaf ninjas.

Suddenly the lead Cloud-nin began performing seals, then raised his hand to his mouth. Naruto was too far away to hear the name of the jutsu, but he saw the effect. A bolt of lightning shot out of the chuunin's hand and was barreling straight at the person he'd turned to look at; Sakura, the love of his life. Snarling silently Naruto acted without thinking, he lunged at Sakura, knocking her over, which he regretted, but she was safely out of the way of the Cloud-nin's attack, which Naruto now took full out in the right side of his chest. The jutsu sent waves of electricity through Naruto's young body, causing all his muscles to seize up as he hit the ground and rolled several feet until he came to a stop, unmoving. Several smoke trails rose from his body and his mind reeled in pain.

Never before had Naruto faced a chuunin, or at least never had he sustaining a direct hit from a chuunin level jutsu, and he didn't like it one bit. Try as he might, Naruto couldn't move, the electricity had paralyzed his entire body, as well as adding another hole in his favorite jump suit, plus a nice little hole in his chest that was currently bleeding liberally. Naruto's thoughts were moving slowly, but even so, all he could think about was the status of his pink haired teammate he loved more than life itself. Naruto knew Kakashi-sensei wouldn't leave them behind, even in his weakened state. But thinking along those lines brought Naruto to a conclusion: Kakashi wouldn't be able to carry both Sasuke AND himself, nor could Sakura carry him and still keep up with Kakashi-sensei. Naruto's decision was made in a second, and he slowly began forcing the muscles surrounding his jaw open followed by slow, jerky words.  
  
"Kaka...shi-sensei...t-t-ake..Sa..k-k-kura-chan an..d go-o-o.." Naruto inwardly sighed happily, he had gotten out what he needed to, he lay on his back staring up at the trees, unable to move his paralyzed body anymore. He wondered how long it would take before the Cloud-nins came back to finish him off. The blond had been prone for several minutes before the ringing in his ears had subsided, and several seconds after that revealed footsteps coming closer.  
  
'Ahh..' thought Naruto, 'finally..looks like this is where it end..'  
  
Naruto mustered the last of his strength, again forcing words out of his unwilling mouth.  
  
"Ha...ha...at..least..you..bastards didn't get S-s-sak..ura-chan..d-d-do your worst..I'm ready..to die, knowing that Sak..ura-chan..is safe from y-y-y-ou." Naruto finished his statement with contempt oozing from his jerky voice, as he awaited the jutsu that would shortly end his life.

Only...it didn't come, but what did surprised him. Sakura's face appeared in his field of vision, tears streaming down her dirtied face. The blond's first thought was that the Cloud-nins had caught up to Kakashi-sensei and Sakura and had captured his Sakura-chan, the thought alone was enough to incur his rage, which overrode his paralysis enough so he could turn his head to the side, where he spotted the bodies of the enemy shinobi, with Kakashi slowly striding towards Sakura and himself. Naruto forced his head back up to look at Sakura, confusion having a firm grip on his mind until she spoke.  
  
"Naruto-kun..you..stupid, loud, hyperactive ninja!" Sakura's face broke into a smile as she laughed through her tears and slumped down and hugged Naruto tightly as a smile formed on the young boy's face and he slipped unconscious.

**Author's Notes**

Hope you enjoyed chapter two, there is much more to come..I'm still trying to get used to the system here and how to post and such, so please forgive me if it doesn't look as visually appealing until I get more of a feel for it.

I want to thank Lost Dream for commenting on my paragraph size..I didn't even realize they were so big, and I hope they're better sized now.


	3. Then and Now

"**A Missing Leaf"**

by Coded

**Chapter 3: Then and Now**

' ' = Thoughts, " " = Speech

**B**ack in Konoha, two days after Team 7's mad dash for safety, Sakura sat in a chair, dozing slightly. The chair was placed next to a bed, in a pale white hospital room. Sakura was still in dream land when Naruto stirred and opened his eyes, sighing at the sight of the hospital room ceiling.  
  
"This place is becoming like a second home for me," the blond genin grumbled to himself, as he quickly made a mental note of the damages his body had suffered on the mission of border patrol. Finding everything to be in working order, Naruto nodded happily and began to wonder how long he had been out this time, surely no longer than a few days, for no matter what the boy went through, he never seemed to need more than a couple days of rest to recover.   
  
Suddenly, Naruto's stomach growled loudly. Loud enough to cause Sakura to awaken with a start. Sakura wondered what had caused her abrupt awakening when her eyes fell on the orange-clad member of her team.  
  
"You're awake!!!" Sakura squealed happily and had pounced onto the young blond before he knew what was coming.  
  
"Wha..oof!" Naruto's mind was reeling, he'd been awake not 5 minutes before he was being attacked again, and in the hospital, no less!! Then Naruto looked down at his "attacker" to discover, much to his surprise, that it was the one person he last expected to be hugging him; it was Sakura.  
  
"S-sakura-chan! You're all right!" Naruto fought off the shock and managed to spew forth some words, which he rather regretted, it sounded lame to him.  
  
"Yes," the young girl nodded in response, "but only thanks to you, Naruto-kun...you risked your life to save me..thank you.." Sakura let her voice trail off as she leaned in and kissed Naruto lightly on the lips. The boy was still gaping like a fish when she pulled back to gather his reaction. She laughed slightly at the look on his face and smiled down at him.  
  
"My hero," Sakura said at last, breaking the silence.  
  
"But..but..!" Naruto finally seemed able to create coherent words, if just barely. "Wha...what about Sasuke!?" Naruto said in a surprised yelp.  
  
Sakura's face darkened at the thought of the other member of Team 7, she couldn't remember how she felt about him before, didn't know how she could be so blind. All she could remember was the image of Sasuke's back as he turned and ran from the battlefield, leaving Sakura behind to what would have been certain death, had it not been for Naruto's courage and bravery.  
  
"Sasuke is in a coma right now," Sakura finally answered, "I don't know what that enemy shinobi did to him..but it must have done something to his brain."  
  
Now many people have called Naruto an idiot, and stupid, and said he had no brains. Naruto himself wouldn't have even called himself 'smart.' However, the lack of the usual "-kun" attached to Sasuke's name, and the tone of voice Sakura had didn't go unnoticed by the boy.  
  
"I see," Naruto finally spoke, "how is Kakashi-sensei?"  
  
Sakura shrugged. "You know him, he was slightly injured, but it was mainly just a lack of chakra that ailed him. He's two rooms down the hall, probably reading one of his dirty books."  
  
Naruto nodded sagely, knowing all about the books Kakashi read after having been a student under the author, Jiraiya, for a short time.  
  
"How about..you..?" Naruto asked the beautiful girl tentatively.  
  
"I'm all right..when we got back to the village, Hokage-sama healed my arm, its good as new." Sakura smiled happily for a moment, but in an instant her face had turned serious. "I would have had more than just an arm injury if it wasn't for you, Naruto-kun..if I had been hit by that jutsu that you knocked me out of the way of, I don't think I would be alive right now."  
  
Naruto's throat seized up at the thought of Sakura dead, if there was one thing he feared more than loneliness, it was that.  
  
"I'm glad I was able to protect you, Sakura-chan..thats all I've ever wanted to do.." his voice cracked slightly and he went silent, lowering his eyes to the blankets covering his lower body.  
  
"Oh, Naruto-kun, I know...I was such an idiot to get angry or annoyed when you tried..I'm sorry, I was caught up with Sasuke, and too blind to see the REALLY important person in my life." Sakura leaned in and wrapped Naruto in a warm embrace, resting her head on his chest.  
  
Wide-eyed, Naruto slowly lifted his arms and wrapped them around Sakura, like he'd seen other people do. He wondered if he was doing it the correct way, after all, he'd never hugged anyone before.  
  
"I love you, Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered into Sakura's hair.  
  
"I love you too, Naruto-kun."  
  
-**One Year Later**-  
  
Naruto walked hand in hand with the person he'd never been seen without in the last year; Sakura. He smiled happily as he turned his head and studied her side profile. She hadn't really gotten any taller since they'd been together. Her hair was still short, which Naruto approved of very much. The boy flashed his foxy-grin as Sakura turned to look at him, a questioning look on her face.  
  
"Whats wrong?" She asked.  
  
Naruto stared into her beautiful green eyes for a while before pulling her into a tight hug. "Nothing," he replied, "I just love you, thats all."  
  
Sakura smiled warmly and snuggled closer, squeezing Naruto tightly. "I love you too, Naruto-kun. C'mon, we should get going or we'll be late..I wonder what Kakashi-sensei has planned for us today?"  
  
Naruto shrugged helplessly. "Probably just another mission, we never seem to train as a team anymore, it's been that way ever since we've been chuunins."  
  
Six months after the events of the war with the Sand and Sound, Naruto and Sakura had been granted special permission to participate in the chuunin exam as a group of two rather than the traditional three person team. Less than a month after the incident at the border, when it had been determined Sasuke wouldn't be awakening from his coma anytime soon, Kakashi had begun performing missions again with just Naruto and Sakura. It irritated Naruto a little that all the missions they were doing now were easy. As only a three person team, including Kakashi, the Hokage had been throwing the easy, boring missions at Team 7.  
  
Naruto, of course, blamed Sasuke for the lack of exciting missions. If it wasn't for that stupid Uchiha, they would still be a regular team, getting regular missions, and they would all be chuunins. Since Sasuke had been in his coma through the chuunin exam, he hadn't participated, and as such was still a genin.   
  
Sakura usually kept her ex-crush out of her thoughts completely. Team 7 was now just her, Naruto, and Kakashi as far as she was concerned, and she wouldn't have had it any other way. Sakura smiled up at Naruto as he broke out of the hug and once again began walking towards their usual meeting spot. The boy had changed quite a bit since they had gotten together. It was apparent very soon after they became a couple that Naruto had lost his loud, obnoxious behavior. He was still loud and hyperactive, but not all of the time like it had been before. Sakura assumed it was because now that he had the one person's attention he really wanted, he didn't need to wear the mask anymore. He was more thoughtful now, and rather than jumping in with both feet without looking, he now took the time to think things through and use reason.  
  
Looks wise, he still had spikey blond hair, although he had let it get slightly longer. The strange whisker marks that Sakura had come to love to much were still apparent on his face, and he still had his famous foxy grin. However, he was now taller than Sakura, and his body much more muscled than it was before.  
  
Without warning, Naruto came to a complete stop, jarring Sakura from her musing. Her eyes moved to his face to see what the problem was. Her brow furrowed as she saw how pale he looked, with his mouth hanging open as he stared at something ahead of them. Sakura turned her gaze to take in what he was looking at. Suddenly her eyes found what Naruto had seen, and she felt as if she'd been kicked in the stomach.  
  
There, standing on the bridge Team 7 used as a meeting spot, stood someone Sakura had all but forgotten, someone she had never expected to see. The most famous boy at the academy, the guy all the girls chased after, Sakura's ex-crush. Uchiha Sasuke stood there in all his good-looking glory, leaning against the railing of the bridge, hands in his pockets.  
  
"So..he's awake.." was all Sakura heard Naruto say before she fainted.

**Author's Notes**

Hope you all are still enjoying my story, I appreciate all the positive feedback in the reviews, keep them coming! =)

The next chapter should be out in a day or so, so stay tuned!


	4. A New Target

"**A Missing Leaf**"

By Coded

**Chapter 4: A New Target**

' ' = Thoughts, " " = Speech

****

**S**asuke stood on the bridge, waiting for his former teammates to show up. He studied the floor of the bridge, which he hadn't seen in a year, and idly wondered what was taking Sakura so long. After all, the only female in Team 7 was usually the first to show up for team meetings. He stuck his hands in he pockets as he thought back to the last things he remembered before waking up yesterday. There had been a fight, and Sasuke had turned to run, he remembered an enemy stepping in his way, and then everything went black.   
  
'Why did I run?' Sasuke asked himself silently, 'Why do I always do things just to save my own hide?'  
  
Just then he heard a loud cry off to his left. Lifting his head to discover where it had originated, he saw his teammates. Naruto was holding an apparently unconscious Sakura and fanning her face desperately. Sasuke smiled to himself at Sakura's reaction to him being awake again, and took the time to study what the last year had done to his teammates. Naruto looked much the same as he had before, just taller, and what appeared to be slightly longer hair. He no longer wore his signature orange jump suit, now sporting a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with red spirals on both of his shoulders. His pants looked much like the ones Kakashi once had.  
  
Sasuke moved his gaze to Sakura, and his throat caught. She still looked as beautiful as always, with her hair still short. Sasuke preferred girls with long hair, however Sakura still looked beautiful with her short hair. Sasuke decided there really hadn't been that much of a change to Sakura since he had entered the coma, the only difference he saw was that instead of her old red dress, she now wore a light pink dress, almost the same shade as her hair.  
  
Meanwhile, Naruto was in a panic trying to wake Sakura back up. The boy's breath quickened as his mind raced. What did this reaction mean? It certainly wasn't the one he was hoping for..did Sakura still have feelings for Sasuke that were just now revived? Naruto was still fretting over what Sakura fainting might mean when she woke, eyes lashes fluttering as she regained consciousness.  
  
"Sakura-chan! You're awake! What happened!?" Naruto asked franticly.  
  
"I just..I fainted, Naruto-kun, thats all..I wasn't expecting to see Sasuke there..nobody informed us that he was awake again." Sakura looked up into Naruto's face and saw something in his eyes she thought she'd never see Naruto show. Fear. His eyes were filled with raw, uncovered fear.  
  
'He's worried I'm going to go back to chasing Sasuke,' the thought dawned upon her.  
  
Getting up on her own two feet, Sakura reached out and pulled Naruto into a kiss. "Don't worry, my Naruto-kun, I'm not going to go running back to Sasuke." Sakura spoke after breaking away from the kiss.  
  
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and the old Naruto was back, eyes full of confidence and happiness again. "Well," he began, "shall we go say hello to our long lost teammate, then?"  
  
Sakura nodded and they once again began walking towards the bridge, hand in hand.  
  
Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Sakura lean in and kiss Naruto on the lips after she had woken from the faint.  
  
'What...the hell? What's going on here?' Sasuke thought to himself. 'This must be a dream..theres no way I just saw Sakura kiss the Dead last. Oh and now they're holding hands! That does it, this is DEFINITELY a dream.'  
  
Naruto and Sakura stepped onto the bridge, stopping a few feet away from Sasuke. All three of the young ninjas were tense and rigid, examining each other like cats with their backs up. Naruto finally took the initiative and broke the silence.  
  
"Well well," he began, a slight sneer forming on his face, "looks like the scaredy cat is awake again. Have a nice nap?"   
  
Naruto didn't try to conceal the contempt he felt for his one time rival. It was common knowledge that after the border mission, Naruto had lost all faith and respect for Sasuke. Naruto no longer considered Sasuke a rival, instead stepping it up and placing himself among the ranks of the older shinobi in the village. There was even a rumor that Naruto viewed his sensei, Kakashi, as a rival now.   
  
"It was fine," replied Sasuke with just as much contempt in his voice, "I see you still haven't gotten any stronger in the last year. Pathetic. Still dead last, I see."  
  
Naruto growled low in his throat, a feral sound that made Sakura jump as he stepped back into a ready fighting position. "You wanna see just how much stronger I've gotten, coward?" Naruto snarled at his one time rival.  
  
Sakura, seeing Sasuke ready himself for a fight as well, stepped in between the two, facing Naruto and placing a restraining hand against his chest. "Naruto-kun, please don't. You're both Leaf-nins, theres no reason to fight one another. Besides, you and I both know who would win, Sasuke just woke up, there's no need to put him back into a coma."  
  
Sasuke had donned a condescending smile when Sakura had stepped between them to stop Naruto, but it was quickly melting. From the Naruto-kun, to the lack of a "-kun" added to his name, and finally the smile was replaced by a hanging jaw when Sakura had told Naruto not to put Sasuke back into a coma. As if the dead last could put the great Uchiha Sasuke into a coma!   
  
'He couldn't have gotten that strong in the last year,' Sasuke thought to himself as he was once again surprised to see Sakura step back next to Naruto and put her arm through his, patting his hand comfortingly. Sasuke looked at the two suspiciously.  
  
"Whats going on here?" Sasuke finally asked, seeing neither of them were going to volunteer the information.  
  
It was Sakura who spoke up, much to Sasuke's surprise. But not as surprising as the response she gave him. "Me and Naruto-kun are together now, Sasuke. We have been for the last year."   
  
Sasuke felt as if he'd been hit by a truck. 'What!? Sakura and Naruto? Together! This has got to be a joke!' His mouth opened and closed several times before he was finally able to force a single word out: "What?"  
  
"She said we were together, idiot. You know, as in we're in a relationship, boyfriend and girlfriend. Significant others." Naruto spoke up, wrapping his arm protectively around Sakura's shoulders and pulling her closer to himself.   
  
Sasuke's mind still couldn't grasp what was being told to him. 'Together? Them? No, this is wrong! Sakura is supposed to love ME! She's supposed to be with ME! Not him! Anyone but him!!'  
  
Sakura watched as Sasuke's expression went from one of confusion, to hurt, to anger before he spoke up again, focusing on Sakura. "How? ..WHY? You loved me, not him! Why are you with him and not me!?"  
  
Sakura's face grew hard as Sasuke went on, her temper growing with every word. "This is why, Sasuke. You care about nobody and nothing but yourself. Naruto-kun cares for me, and makes me happy. Thats something you never did for me. All you did was ignore me, and act cold towards me, and where were you when I needed you the most? You ran away, leaving me alone. Naruto-kun would never leave me." She finished her spiel with a sniff for emphasis.  
  
Sasuke was still trying to think of a way to respond when Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke.  
  
"Ah, I see all three of you are here. Naruto, Sakura, you obviously now know that Sasuke is awake from his coma again. However, some things need to be taken care of, and you two have a mission to accomplish today while I bring Sasuke up to date. Go talk to Tsunade-sama for the details. Dismissed." With a wave of his hand, the jounin waved off Naruto and Sakura, turning to Sasuke and placing a hand upon the boy's shoulder. Seeing the hurt in Sasuke's eyes as he watched Naruto and Sakura walk away together, Kakashi frowned behind his mask.  
  
"We have some things to talk about, Sasuke."  
  
Sasuke nodded dumbly as he allowed himself to be led off by Kakashi, while his sensei began speaking about the events of the past year.  
  
Kakashi told him all about the small skirmishes that took place between the Leaf and the Cloud, however hostilities were quickly ended when it became apparent to the Cloud that the quality of the shinobi of Konoha had great improved since the last war. Sasuke stared blankly as Kakashi told him of Sakura and Naruto's rise to chuunin, the trials they had fought through in the exam, with it being just the two of them. He was happy to hear of Sakura's sudden rise in strength, even if it was a product of her personal training with Naruto.  
  
Kakashi was still droning on about meaningless things then Sasuke suddenly spoke up. "What about Naruto and Sakura..? What..happened? When?"  
  
Kakashi sighed and led the boy into a ramen shop where they took seats at the bar. "Well," he began, searching for the right words to use, "I supposed Sakura realized her feelings for Naruto the day you were put into your coma, atleast thats what it seemed like after the fight. He saved her life two times that day, and I guess thats what brought out her feelings for him. Two days after we returned to Konoha and Naruto was awake again, they were together. I haven't seen them apart for more than an hour since that day, about a year ago."  
  
Sasuke nodded and attempted to conceal the hurt he felt inside. Sakura was the only person he had allowed himself to get close to, and now she had been ripped away from him. 'Why...why does my chest hurt so much? I haven't hurt like this since...since that day..' Sasuke thought to himself, as suddenly the day his older brother, Itachi, had killed every other member of the Uchiha clan, including Sasuke's parents.  
  
Sasuke swallowed several times, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat before he finally spoke. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei..I'm going to go home now...taking in all this new information has made me tired.."  
  
The boy stood and without waiting for an answer, turned and walked out of the shop. As soon as he was around the corner, where he was sure Kakashi couldn't see him, he broke into a run.  
  
Sasuke didn't stop running until he was back in the safety of his own home, where nothing had changed and there wasn't anything to surprise him. 'How could I let this happen?' he asked himself, "I mean...Sakura and Naruto? Not only that, but she looked so...happy..with him. This isn't the way it was supposed to happen! She is supposed to be happy with me! God, why didn't I tell her how I felt when I had the chance? I'm so stupid.."  
  
Sasuke lashed out and punched the wall nearest him, knocking a hole straight through it. "GOD DAMN IT!!" He yelled out in frustration, sinking to the floor where he sat hugging his knees. "I..I can't let this stand..I have to do something...I can't lose Sakura..think Sasuke, THINK!" He spoke to himself, his voice echoing around the emptiness of his apartment. "Ok..Sakura loved me for as long as I can remember..she HAS to still have feelings for me! If I tell her how I feel, I bet she'll leave Naruto to be with me! I'm a genius!" Jumping to his feet, Sasuke set out to find Sakura and tell her how he had really felt, how he still felt.  
  
It was dark by the time he found her. She was walking Naruto back to his apartment, and it appeared she was the only thing keeping him standing. Sasuke got closer, so he could get a better look at the two. Naruto was splashed in some dark liquid that Sasuke had originally thought to be mud, when he took a closer look, though, he realized what it really was: blood.  
  
'Blood? I wonder what happened..Sakura doesn't appear to be injured at all. ..I wonder how much of that blood is Naruto's.' Sasuke thought to himself as he suddenly dropped down off the roof he had been standing on, and stepped into the pool of light Sakura and Naruto were currently passing through.  
  
Sakura and Naruto came to a stop when they saw their former teammate step into the light. Sakura eyed Sasuke suspiciously as he began speaking, she no longer trusted his judgements, and was afraid he may have come here to pick a fight with Naruto.  
  
"Sakura..I need to talk to you." Sasuke said. "Alone." He emphasized the word, while staring Naruto in the eyes to make his point.  
  
Sakura kept a firm hold on Naruto as he attempted to step forward, between Sasuke and herself, growling softly.  
  
"Shh, quiet Naruto-kun. We don't need a fight," she told her blond counterpart. Turning to look at Sasuke she spoke directly to him, "Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of Naruto-kun. I don't keep secrets from him, he knows everything I know, so he'd just end up hearing it anyway."  
  
Sasuke seemed to not hear Sakura speak, and he sneered at Naruto. "You wanna fight, Dead Last? Doesn't look like you're in the shape for a fight, what happened? You piss off some academy student stronger than you?"  
  
Naruto growled again, and his breathing became more rapid, but Sakura was glad to see him hold his temper to just anger in his eyes, rather than jumping out and attacking Sasuke. Instead, he answered the question, voice calm, speaking deliberately. "Actually, I had a mission involving some missing-nin I had to track down. You know, chuunin business."  
  
The way he stressed "chuunin" caused Sasuke to grind his teeth in frustration. Sasuke knew he was easily at chuunin level, if it wasn't for his coma, he would be one too. 'But I'm not,' he thought to himself, 'I'm just a genin, while my teammates are chuunins, and Naruto is rubbing that in.'  
  
"Fine," Sasuke spoke aloud, turning his attention back to Sakura. "I came here to tell you something. Something important. Something I should have told you a long time ago."  
  
Sakura didn't like the tone of voice the raven-haired boy had taken on, and shrugged uncomfortably under his stare. 'What could he have to tell me?' she wondered to herself. "All right," she answered, "Make it fast, I need to get Naruto-kun home, he has to rest."  
  
Sasuke fumed. He didn't want to do this in front of Naruto, and now he was being hurried by Sakura for the sake of Naruto. He almost turned and walked away, leaving his feelings left unsaid. Almost. "Sakura..I..I'm not sure how to tell you this, so I'll just say it plain, I love you." Sasuke finished in a rush of words, eager to finally get it out and in the open.  
  
Sasuke held his breath for the responses he knew were about to come. Sakura just stared at him as if he had two heads, but he didn't expect much else, he was sure she was in shock of her crush revealing feelings for her. It was Naruto's reaction he was bracing himself for. And it came. But nothing like he was expecting.  
  
Naruto played what Sasuke had said over in his head several times, letting it sink in. He loved Sakura? Hah! What did the Uchiha know of love? Naruto couldn't hold in his mirth, and let out a loud and raucous belly laugh. "Ahahaha! You love Sakura-chan? Oh this is great, Uchiha Sasuke is jealous that the lowly Uzumaki Naruto has something he doesn't. Good one, asshole, you almost had me going." Naruto's voice broke off as he let forth another round of laughs.  
  
Sasuke's eyes bulged in anger, how dare this..this ORPHAN laugh at an Uchiha! Sasuke wasn't sure if he preferred this reaction, or the reaction he was expecting to get, which consisted of loud shouts, anger, and possibly physical confrontation. Ignoring Naruto for the moment, Sasuke focused on Sakura, looking into her eyes.  
  
"It's true," he said weakly, "I...I love you...I just never knew how to say it..despite what Naruto thinks."  
  
Sakura stared at Sasuke, trying to think of something to say. He loved her? It WAS hard to believe, Naruto was right. But whether it was true or not didn't matter any to Sakura. "You're too late, Sasuke," she finally spoke, "You had your chance, I liked you for the longest time. But not anymore. I love Naruto-kun now, I'm sorry, but thats all there is to it. Now..if you'll excuse us, I still have to get him home."  
  
Naruto nodded his approval and set off with Sakura towards his apartment, passing Sasuke without a word. 'No need to rub it in,' Naruto thought to himself, 'then I'd be no better than him.'  
  
Sasuke's body was frozen. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Sakura had passed him over for Naruto? Sasuke's eyes stared off at nothing as the couple limped past him silently. Wide-eyed, Sasuke's hands began to shake. 'What..what am I supposed to do now?' Sasuke thought in desperation. The one person he had allowed himself to have feelings for had rejected him.  
  
Suddenly, it struck Sasuke. 'She's just like him..they're all like him. They just hurt me. But no more..never again will I get close to someone.' He silently vowed. All the despair and pain he was feeling was turned to stone. Cold and hard, it encased his heart and he was once again Uchiha Sasuke. Avenger. Prodigy of a dead clan. He was above feelings, he was cold, he was ruthless. And he had two goals for his life. His list of men to kill had just doubled. Uchiha Itachi, his brother and the killer of his family. Sasuke had vowed to kill him long ago. Now he vowed to kill another man. Uzumaki Naruto.  
  
Sasuke removed his forehead protector and held it before him, staring at the leaf symbol engraved on the metal. 'I'm wasting my time here,' he thought to himself. 'I'm not getting any stronger.' Sasuke's mind moved to the cursed seal that had begun to throb on the back of his neck. Turning his focus back to the forehead protector, he viciously broke the metal and threw it on the ground, before turning on his heels and running as hard as he could; towards the outskirts of the village, and beyond. To the Village of Sound.  
  
Naruto awakened with a start, groaning slightly and rolling out of bed, still in his pajamas. He grumbled as he moved towards the door to open it and find out what all the banging was about. "For the love of all thats holy, what?" He said irritably as he opened the door to find a wide-eyed messenger standing there, cowering under the baleful gaze of the blond chuunin.  
  
"It's Sasuke..." he began.  
  
Naruto covered a yawn with his hand. "Yea, whats so special about that idiot that I had to be woken up for?"  
  
"..He's missing."

**Author's Notes**

Woo..long chapter this time..think they'll start to get larger from now on. Thank you again for all the positive reviews, and I have a request for any of you readers out there..I have a fight scene upcoming, and I don't really speak any japanese, so I'm having a hard time thinking up some jutsus. So if any of you have any ideas for a jutsu you'd like to see in the story, email me the information, I'd appreciate it!

Again, hope you're all still enjoying the story, and I'll try to get chapter 5 written as soon as possible.


	5. The First Failure

"**A Missing Leaf**"

by Coded

**Chapter 5: The First Failure**

' ' = Thoughts, " " = Speech

****

**N**aruto paced, barely hearing the things Tsunade was trying to tell him. Details about what had happened. Naruto didn't process any of it. Only one thing mattered. Sasuke was missing, and apparently of his own free will. Naruto's ex-teammate had become a missing-nin. Naruto came to a sudden stop and turned to look at the Hokage. Choosing his words carefully, he finally spoke up.  
  
"Tsunade-sama..I understand Sasuke is missing. I understand what it means. I even understand why you would feel it important for me to know. What I DON'T understand is why I have been summoned here to your office. Why my other teammate or my sensei aren't here to hear what you're telling me. Nor do I understand why you're telling me as much as you are. I don't understand half of it. A bent and broken forehead protector, Sasuke's foot prints leading away from it. People that saw him last. That he may be headed towards the Village of the Sound. Why am I being told this."   
  
Naruto inhaled deeply, refilling his lungs with air. He didn't like speeches and that certainly seemed like one to him.  
  
Tsunade, the 5th Hokage of Konoha sighed to herself. She knew he was going to eventually ask, she also knew he probably wouldn't like the answer.  
  
"Naruto, you're being told all of this for a very simple reason. If you are to be the one hunting Sasuke down, you need as much information about his departure as possible."  
  
"WHAT!?" Naruto exploded, causing Tsunade to wince, "Why in the hell am I going to be the one hunting him?! Send some ANBU, thats their job!"  
  
Tsunade made soothing gestures with her hands, trying to calm Naruto down abit. "Naruto, you know you're the best hunter-nin we have not at the ANBU level. No other chuunin has your ability for tracking and bringing down targets. We can't send ANBU, the village doesn't have enough to spare. You must be the one to do this."  
  
"I'm not the best tracker! What about Kiba?!" Naruto shot at his leader, he knew he should have been showing her more respect, but right now he didn't care.  
  
"Kiba is nowhere near as strong as you. Nor does he know Sasuke as well as you do. It has to be you, Naruto. Nobody else is as highly qualified as you. Nobody else knows more about Sasuke than you do, besides maybe Kakashi, and he's busy with another mission right now."  
  
Naruto pondered her words, finally coming up with a suitable response. "What about Sakura-chan? She knows more about Sasuke than I do, and she's gone with me every other time I've gone out on missions like this."  
  
The Hokage shook her head, causing her long blonde hair to sway, "Sakura is training to become a medical-nin. She would be more of a hazard than a help on this mission. You may have to fight Sasuke with everything you have, and how could you do that knowing that Sakura may be in danger? I don't think you would be able to. Besides, I've decided to make Sakura my student and teach her what she will need to know to become a medical-nin. I don't know how long this mission will take, but I fear she will lose out on important training should she accompany you. As much as I don't like it, Naruto, this responsibility rests upon your shoulders alone. I expect you to bring Sasuke back as soon as possible. Dismissed."  
  
Naruto's growl was heard well outside the Hokage office as he turned and strode out the door without so much as a word. 'I suppose it's fitting that it will be me who brings his sorry ass back. If she wants him back so badly, I'll get the bastard back. Uzumaki Naruto doesn't fail missions.'   
  
Back in the Hokage office, a figure stepped out of the shadows behind Tsunade's desk. Stepping forward to stand behind the Hokage, the figure looked down at the leader of the Leaf.  
  
"What would you have me do, Hokage-sama?"  
  
Tsunade hated herself for having to do this to Naruto, even if he wasn't aware. "Follow him. Keep an eye on him. Make sure he actually brings Sasuke back and doesn't beat him to a pulp out in the forest. You know Naruto, he can get very emotional.."  
  
The figure nodded and disappeared out a window, not waiting for any more instructions.  
  
Uchiha Sasuke, now the talk of the village, was jumping from tree to tree through the forest in the northern part of the Fire Country. Not once had he looked back since he left his home village, 2 days past, for he no longer considered himself part of that hell hole. 'They'll pay,' he thought to himself as he blurred past a small, non-ninja community, 'they'll all pay. Itachi. Naruto. Sakura. One day I'll kill them all.'  
  
He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, where Orochimaru's cursed seal had begun to surface, sensing its host's lust for power. Grunting in pain, Sasuke dropped down into a clearing in the forest. Deciding it was time to stop for a rest, he propped himself up against a tree and dozed off. Never a thought in his mind that the Leaf would send atleast one shinobi after him, let alone his former teammate.  
  
While Sasuke stopped to rest, Naruto was trying his best to catch up. He had returned to his apartment immediately after his meeting with Tsunade and had begun packing. Once finished, he stopped by Sakura's house to explain the mission and why she was not going to accompany him on this one. After giving his Sakura-chan a tight hug and a kiss goodbye he had turned and ran, trying to forget the worry in Sakura's green eyes.  
  
Now in the forest, following Sasuke's trail, Naruto growled to himself. Observing signs of his ex-teammates passage, Naruto followed the trail as fast as he could without wasting precious energy he might need once he met up with the Uchiha.   
  
'Damn him!' Naruto thought. 'Always making me go out of my way, I swear he does this just to piss me off..'  
  
Before Naruto realized it, night was upon him. He briefly thought of setting up camp for the night. Thinking quickly, he discarded the idea. After all, there was no telling if Sasuke was stopping to rest or not, and he was already hours ahead of Naruto. Naruto mentally adjusted himself. Drawing forth some of the Kyubi's chakra, he pushed it towards his eyes, causing the iris to change to red, the pupils becoming slits.  
  
Naruto had learned long ago how to control the chakra of the Nine Tails, however he had also made some discoveries on his own, without the aid of Jiraiya. This was one of them, focusing the Kyubi chakra into his eyes warped them somehow, changing them to mimic the real eyes of the Kyubi, greatly increasing his sight. Sighing to himself about not being able to tell if he was catching up or not, he continued on through the night.  
  
Naruto had run himself to near exhaustion. It had been 3 days and he still hadn't caught up to Sasuke, and he began to wonder what would happen if he didn't catch up with the Uchiha before he made it to Orochimaru's compound.  
  
'I suppose I'll just have to go in there and drag his sorry as out, thats all,' Naruto thought stubbornly as he stopped on a branch for a quick breather. Grinding he teeth he set off once again, increasing his pace.  
  
Suddenly Naruto saw a streak of black over to his right. A streak that didn't fit into the sparse forest at noon on a sunny day. Changing his direction, Naruto veered off to his right in the direction of the streak. Narrowing his eyes in determination of catching up with that streak, he suddenly burst out of the forest, finding himself near the edge of a cliff.  
  
Surprised at the sudden change of scenery, Naruto dropped to the ground, catching himself on all fours before sweeping his eyes from side to side. His eyes locked onto that black streak he'd seen in the forest. His prey. The person he'd been hunting for days, and the person he'd been charged to bring back to the village. Uchiha Sasuke.  
  
"Well well...I never expected them to send the Dead Last after me" Sasuke said as Naruto slowly stood, his eyes never leaving the dark haired ninja.   
  
"What can I say?" Replied Naruto in a tight voice, "I AM the number one ninja in surprising people. But down to business. You can come back with me quietly, or this can get rough. Personally I don't care either way, I'd actually prefer if you put up a struggle. I've been looking for an excuse to beat your ass."  
  
Sasuke laughed contemptuously, much like Orochimaru would, and turned his head to spit. "You? Kick MY ass? Looks like passing the chuunin exam went to your head. In your dreams, loser. Now I've wasted enough time here, I'm leaving." and with that Sasuke turned and began walking away.  
  
Sasuke had only walked several paces when he was flattened by a kick square between his shoulder blades. Sliding afew feet, face in the dirt, Sasuke swore. 'I never even felt him move...his speed is like Kakashi's' Sasuke grunted to himself and rolled over, flipping back up to his feet. Naruto stood in the same place he had when Sasuke had turned away. Arms crossed, a slight smirk on his face, it didn't even appear Naruto had moved at all.  
  
Tilting his head slightly to the side, Naruto grinned widely at the bewildered look in Sasuke's eyes. 'Thats what the bastard gets for thinking I haven't gotten any stronger in the last year.'  
  
"Like I said, Sasuke" Naruto spoke up, "You're coming back with me. Whether you walk, I carry you back unconsciously, or I bring you back in a body bag, you ARE coming back to Konoha. After all, I promised afew people I'd bring you back, and you know I don't go back on my word."  
  
Sasuke shook his head to clear the thoughts of Naruto resembling his former sensei. 'That stance...he looks so like Kakashi when we were first genin...no! He's NOT Kakashi, he's nowhere near that strong. I'll show him a thing or two before I go on my way.'  
  
"You're making a big mistake, Naruto, trying to fight me...but it could be interesting, I'll show you something you've never seen before. Some people in that pathetic village call it a 'cursed seal' but myself? I like to refer to it as my salvation." Sasuke grinned wickedly as his cursed seal surfaced and spread, covering his entire body in it's black, tattoo looking marks.  
  
"The hell..?" was all Naruto got out before throwing up an arm to defend a kick thrown by Sasuke, aimed at his head. Grunting with effort, Naruto heaved Sasuke's leg back and dropped low, sweeping his leg at Sasuke's feet, attempting to trip him.  
  
Naruto sighed to himself as his sweep hit nothing but air, and he heard a voice ring out behind him. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" Sasuke cried out as he finished the seals for his jutsu. Sasuke smiled triumphantly as his fireballs slammed into Naruto's back. 'I knew that little shit was all talk I sure showed...huh?' Sasuke's mouth dropped open as Naruto burst in a puff of smoke.  
  
Naruto sat on top of a rock to Sasuke's left, juggling some stones. "Not bad, Sasuke," he called, "considering that was a clone and everything. I half expected him to beat you."  
  
"Afraid to fight me yourself, Dead Last?" Sasuke called out, trying to anger his opponent into rushing in blindly. Naruto always was hot tempered. Sasuke's comment didn't have the reaction he was expecting. Not even close.  
  
Naruto fell off the rock laughing as Sasuke scowled at him, anger heating him up. "You think I don't want to fight you myself, Sasuke? Man, that was a friggin clone and you barely dodged that sweep. Don't try to deny it, I was watching the whole thing from here. Guess your little tattoo isn't as nice as you thought it was, eh?"  
  
Sasuke was about to open his mouth to shout a response when Naruto shot off the rock, barreling straight at him. Throwing his hands up to block, Sasuke had time to gasp slightly before Naruto jumped and twisted in mid air, the blond's foot connecting with the back of Sasuke's head, sending him sprawling.  
  
'Damn! When did he get so fast?!' Sasuke raged inwardly as he picked himself up from the ground and quickly activated his Sharingan before throwing himself at Naruto.  
  
Naruto side-stepped easily, defending each of Sasuke's attacks as he did, never moving back, always to the side. Suddenly he attacked. Throwing a punch he knew Sasuke would dodge, he used his momentum to hand plant and throw a kick at the back of Sasuke's legs. Sasuke fell forward with a cry of pain as Naruto's foot crashed into the back of his knee, causing his leg to give out.   
  
When Sasuke jumped to his feet again, what he saw confused him. Naruto stood in front of him, holding what appeared to be twin balls of chakra. 'Something is weird about those..' Sasuke took a closer look and realized that the chakra in the balls were spinning wildly in all directions. 'What the hell? I've never even HEARD of anything like this..'  
  
"I was working on this when you went into your coma, and only perfected it two months ago, so I haven't had a chance to show you. I suppose this works just as well though, this way you get to be on the receiving end, rather than just watching." Naruto smirked as he saw Sasuke squint, staring at his Rasengans. "Pointless to try that, Uchiha. Not even your precious little eyes can emulate this jutsu."  
  
Again Naruto rushed Sasuke before he had a chance to retort. Sasuke growled slightly, he ALWAYS had the last word! His growl was cut short as Naruto was upon him before he had a chance to set himself to dodge or defend. At the last second, Sasuke braced himself for the impact and abuse he was about to receive. Gritting his teeth, Naruto slammed his hands into Sasuke. Left hand connecting with right shoulder, right hand connecting with left torso.  
  
Sasuke couldn't even muster a scream of pain as Naruto's jutsu hit him. It felt like he was being ripped apart, the sides of his body being forced in opposite directions before he was sent flying, spinning madly, finally slamming into a boulder and slumping down to the ground. Sasuke breathed heavily as he fought off unconscious. Grunting in pain as he pushed himself up with his left arm, his right one didn't seem to work when he tried to move it.  
  
Looking down, Sasuke saw his shirt was ripped to shreds, and his torso had a spiraling pattern on it, overlapping his own cursed seal. 'Damn it! DAMN IT!! Why am I so weak?!! Why!! I need more power! MORE!' Sasuke screamed silently as his cursed seal...changed. The marks slowly changed from smooth, sweeping marks to hard, jagged lines as Sasuke shook, and chakra was released from his body in waves.  
  
Naruto frowned slightly to himself as he observed Sasuke's change. 'What the hell is going on? His power just increased exponentially, hm, oh well, he's half dead anyway, I'll beat on him alittle more, then take him home.' Naruto nodded to himself, silently agreeing with his old idea when he realized Sasuke wasn't at the boulder anymore.  
  
Naruto had no warning before a kick to the side of his head sent him sprawling. It was only instincts and quick movement that saved him from another series of kicks and punches. It was all he could do to defend. 'What the hell did that thing do? Sasuke is nowhere near this strong!' Grunting as one of Sasuke's blows connected with his stomach, Naruto flipped away, trying to pause the action for a breather.  
  
Apparently Sasuke wasn't tired. He rushed the Leaf chuunin and in quick succession landed kicked to Naruto's knee, gut, and finally throat. The final kick sent Naruto staggering back, clutching his neck and gasping for air. Grinning evilly, Sasuke began performing seals, his hands moving too fast to keep track of. Finally he slapped his hands together into one final seal and let loose the name of his jutsu. "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!"   
  
Red flames spreading from Sasuke was all Naruto saw before they engulfed him completely, without a way to defend, Sasuke's jutsu had done its work. Sasuke moved over to the fallen form of Naruto and placed a foot against his chest, still feeling the heat from his own jutsu. "You see, Dead Last? This is the difference between us." Sasuke sneer victoriously as he lifted his foot and positioned it over Naruto's solar plexus, preparing for a killing blow.   
  
Before Sasuke could stomp down on Naruto, he saw a blur out of the corner of his eye. Blinking suddenly, he looked down to find Naruto gone. Looking around for where the boy had gone to, Sasuke could find no sign, just scars from their battle. Growling at losing the chance at killing his former teammate, he shrugged and again sped off towards the Village of the Sound. Towards Orochimaru.  
  
Meanwhile, a shrouded figure laid Naruto to rest on a tree branch, examining the damage done to the boy. 'Well..atleast he isn't going to die immediately...not much I can do for him here, gotta get him back to the village as soon as possible..good thing Tsunade-sama sent me after him. Bah, why did I have to be the one? I don't even like this kid! Although he IS kind of cute..' Shrugging to herself Tenten lifted an unconcious Naruto and set off for Konoha as fast as she could go.

**Author's Notes**

My apologies for how long it's taken me to update, I had a slight medical emergency arise that I had to have taken care of, and the fight scene was intimidating to write, hope I did a halfway decent job on it. Once again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter


	6. Calm Before the Storm

"**A Missing Leaf**"

by Coded

**Chapter 6: Calm Before the Storm**

' ' Thoughts, " " Speech

**7 Years Later**

**T**he Hokage of the Hidden Village of the Leaf smiled to himself as he strolled the streets of his beautiful village. He stopped and bent down to smile and ruffle the hair of a young academy student who gasped and wordlessly turned and hid his face behind his mother's skirt.

The village of Konoha had prospered, of late. The last several years had found the village at peace and without any conflict besides the minor run in with criminals and the anti-ninja organizations. The people of Konoha credited this success to their new Hokage. Some thought he was perhaps too young for the job, being the youngest ninja ever to be named Hokage in the history of the village, but many more cared nothing about his age so long as he kept them and their families safe and happy.

As the Hokage straightened and continued on his brow drew together and he frowned, deep in thought.

New intelligence reports had the leader of the strongest of all the ninja villages worried.

Orochimaru was on the move again, and with the snake man came the one time prodigy turned traitor, Uchiha Sasuke. The Hokage quickly slipped a smile on his face as he passed several more villagers and absent-mindedly patted a young girl on the head as he moved past, leaving behind a girl now filled with new dreams of becoming the next female hokage.

Onward walked the Hokage, making his way through the village more from memory than from actual attention he paid toward his surroundings. These new reports had him greatly worried. A hand settled on his shoulder and the Hokage turned with a smile on his face, ready to greet another villager and answer any questions they may have.

The robed man blinked as he stuck a hand up under his hat to rub his head. "Oh, Kiba, its you, what is it?"

The dog-like ninja shook his head and spit over his shoulder. "No good news, that's for sure. Me and my boys just got back from our mission. It's worse than just Orochimaru and Sasuke."

Kiba was the best tracker in the village and was made head of the intelligence department soon after making jounin. The Hokage frowned, his mind turned circles as he tried to figure out what would be worse than Orochimaru and Sasuke attacking the village.

Suddenly, a thought dawned on the Hokage and all color drained from his face as he shook his head in disbelief.

"No. Impossible." The Hokage's eyes pleaded with Kiba to agree.

Kiba looked grim as he nodded. "It's true, Hokage. Itachi has apparently joined forces with the snake-man and the traitor. I wouldn't think it possible, except that I saw him with my own two eyes in the Sound village, coordinating a section of the forces of ninja's we expect to be sent against our village. Apparently the Uchiha's have reconciled and that they're BOTH S-Class criminals."

The Hokage stared off into space, at a loss for words. Several minutes passed before Kiba finally broke the silence. "What are we going to do? They pose a much more serious threat with Itachi with them. Were it just Orochimaru and Sasuke I wouldn't worry that much, not with you around, you're the strongest Hokage in the history of the village..but Itachi, Orochimaru, AND Sasuke? There's nobody in the village other than you that can even take on one of them, and forgive my lack of faith but I don't know if you can best all three."

The Hokage grunted sourly at the jounin's lack of protocol. "Yes, well, keep in mind Kiba, that people still underestimate me."

Naruto drew back the hat that signified his office and ran a hand through his spikey blonde hair. "Well, this changes nothing in our major defense plans. I'll deal with them, whether Itachi is a part of the attack or not. I may just need some back up." Naruto thought for a moment. "Call together the council, we meet at the memorial in say, 10 minutes? Think you can gather everyone in time?"

Naruto smirked as Kiba nodded once and took off. 'Aw, he didn't take the bait this time, that's so boring' Naruto frowned again at not being given his fun before he set off towards the meeting he had called.

Naruto leaned against the Hero's memorial as the members of his personal, secret council entered the clearing in ones and twos. The young ninja smiled broadly at the first shin obi to show up.

"Ah, Tenten, I wasn't sure if you were back in the village yet or not. Its good to see you again, have you had any time to rest since you've gotten back?"

The dark haired female smiled warmly at the most powerful man she knew. Bowing her head slightly, she replied, "Hello again, Hokage-sama. I just returned from the mission, I haven't had time to rest yet, but I'll be alright."

Naruto made a disgusted face. "Please, Tenten, I have to put up with that Hokage-sama crap from everyone else in the village, not from you too." Naruto's face turned serious, causing Tenten a small amount of alarm. "New reports just came in that I feel the council needs to discuss. I'm afraid some orders are going to be changed. You saved me once, old friend, and I may just need your help to stay alive again here in the coming days."

Tenten bowed low, bursting with pride that one of the strongest men in the world was asking for her help. The two ninjas were still standing there grinning at one another when the second member of the council arrived. Neji threw a hand in front of his cousin, Hinata, stopping the younger Hyuuga just before entering the clearing. Neji surveyed the scene of Naruto and Tenten together and frowned slightly before continuing into the clearing and announcing the presence of him and his cousin.

"Hokage-sama, I'm sorry it took so long, me and Hinata-san were training, and I felt it appropriate to freshen up before the meeting."

Tenten straightened suddenly and blushed slightly as her former teammate walked over and took up station to her right.

Eyeing Tenten as the other members arrived, Neji again frowned to himself. His former teammate had the white-eyed ninjas confused. When the two were still teammates, it seemed they were destined to be together. However, everything changed the day the female Leaf-nin returned from a solo mission with a bruised and battered Naruto slung over one shoulder.

Neji's expression tightened as he thought of all the success Naruto had had over the years. "Where is Sakura, Hokage-sama?" Neji spoke up suddenly. He felt a strange need to pry apart Naruto and Tenten by bringing up the other woman in Naruto's life.

Naruto turned to Neji and grinned broadly. "Oh, Sakura-chan is back at our house, taking care of the children."

Naruto and Sakura had gotten married 4 years earlier, and had 2 children almost immediately after the ceremony. Twin boys, Naruto had high hopes for them as shin obis and had been training them since they turned 3, in cooperation with his wife.

"Ah," nodded Tenten, "How are the two young rascals?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sakura-chan says every day they become more and more like I was before we got together. Watashi seems to be coming along at a quicker pace than his brother, and Heero is furious about it." Naruto grinned again.

"Ah," asked a tired, lazy sounding voice, "are we here for a council meeting, or for gossip?" Naruto shrugged and turned to the speaker. "Just gossip until you got here, Kakashi-sensei, now for the meeting."

Naruto glanced around and noticed everyone had arrived while he had been speaking of his family. Naruto passed his eyes over the members of his council and smiled proudly. Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Ino and Kakashi stood at random around the clearing.

Naruto cleared his voice and spoke loud enough for all in the clearing to hear. "First things first, A moment of silent reflection for the memory of those no longer with us." Everyone in the clearing bowed their heads and remained silent as they reflected on the two members of the council that were no longer with them. Shino and Couji, two original members that had lost their lives in a mission not long ago, ment to scout out the village of Sound.

"Right, well down to business. I didn't call you all here to visit, I've just received some very important information. Itachi has joined forces with Orochimaru and his brother, the traitor. Any suggestions on how this should affect our defense plans?"

The council looked around at each other nervously. Itachi siding with the two sound-nins was potentially deadly, it was bad enough to deal with a legendary sannin and a prodigy like Sasuke.

Kakashi, being the eldest and most experienced of the council finally broke the silence. "I don't see why it should change our plans at all. If he shows up, we'll find a way to deal with him. You can handle him, possibly Gai as well, with a little help." Kakashi finished with a half-hearted shrug.

Naruto shook his head slightly. "No..Gai isn't as fast as he used to be, and we've heard no reports on Itachi for years, we have no way of knowing if he's grown in strength or not. And I can't fight all 3 of the leaders. My priority is Sasuke, then Orochimaru as the situation presents itself. Jiraiya is being sent for, and he will handle Orochimaru if I'm too busy. But that still leaves Itachi," Naruto turned to Tenten, "Tenten, that's where you come in, you're going to be my backup while I fight Sasuke and then Itachi. No actual fighting, I want you to stay to the side and come in only if I get in trouble and you have to save my ass."

Naruto grinned at the young ninja. "As to the rest, keep to the plan Shikamaru thought of, if something unexpected happens, just improvise, I trust all of your judgments."

Seeing nothing more was to be discussed, the ninja's nodded and disappeared one by one as Naruto turned and set off towards his house.

**Author's Notes**

Wow...so it's been awhile. Got tied up with life, and then lost internet. It's been awhile since I've written anything, and I lost my proof-reader, so I apologize if its rather sloppy. I'm really not too happy with the way this chapter came out, I think having gone for so long without writing for the story I may have lost my way alittle, but I thought I would post it and let the readers decide. As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy.


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